Schlüsselwörter

Effects of physical activity in adult age.
A longitudinal study over 10 years

Abstract

This article deals with the question of which
longitudinal effect physical activity at the
adult age can have on physical fitness and
on people’s subjective as well as objective
state of health. Are persons who are regularly
and continuously physically active healthier and fitter than people beginning physical
activity at a later age, or than those who
have never been physically active at all? The
results of the presented longitudinal study,
run over a time range of 10 years, with subjects
at the middle and later adult age, show
that on average physical fitness and subjective
health decline with in the analysed time
range, but positive effects of physical activity do exist. These show up in a decelerated
decline. The constant sportsmen benefit
most here, but also a late start with physical
activity can improve and stabilize physical
fitness and health. Anyway, former physical
activity is no guarantee for lifelong fitness
and health. The group of the dropouts registers
large degradations in both variables after
quitting physical activity.